Methods, Systems, and Computer-Readable Media for Generating a Report Indicating Job Availability

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and computer-readable media provide for generating a report indicating job availability. According to embodiments, a method for generating a report indicating job availability is provided. According to the method, a selected assignment group is displayed. A number of status messages received by a technician in the selected assignment group is displayed. The status messages indicate that no jobs are available for the technician. An amount of lost time associated with the technician in the selected assignment group is determined. The lost time includes a difference between a time at which the technician received one of the status messages and a time at which the technician is dispatched to a next job. The amount of lost time associated with the technician in the selected assignment group is displayed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to commonly assigned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. ______, filed concurrently herewith, titled“METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIA FOR DETERMINING APLURALITY OF TURFS FROM WHERE TO REALLOCATE A WORKFORCE TO A GIVENTURF,” with attorney docket number 070003; commonly assigned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. ______, filed concurrently herewith, titled“METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIA FOR PROVIDING ANINDICATION OF A SCHEDULE CONFLICT,” with attorney docket number 070005;commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filedconcurrently herewith, titled “METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER-READABLEMEDIA FOR PROVIDING AN INDICATION OF HIGHTIME,” with attorney docketnumber 070006; commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No.______, filed concurrently herewith, titled “METHODS, SYSTEMS, ANDCOMPUTER-READABLE MEDIA FOR PROVIDING FUTURE JOB INFORMATION,” withattorney docket number 070007; commonly assigned U.S. patent applicationSer. No. ______, filed concurrently herewith, titled “METHODS, SYSTEMS,AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIA FOR PROVIDING NOTIFICATION OF A LAST JOBDISPATCH,” with attorney docket number 070008; commonly assigned U.S.patent application Ser. No. ______, filed concurrently herewith, titled“METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIA FOR PROVIDING COMMITMENTSINFORMATION RELATIVE TO A TURF,” with attorney docket number 070009;commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filedconcurrently herewith, titled “METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER-READABLEMEDIA FOR PROVIDING CONTACT INFORMATION AT TURF LEVEL,” with attorneydocket number 070010; commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No.______, filed concurrently herewith, titled “METHODS, SYSTEMS, ANDCOMPUTER-READABLE MEDIA FOR PROVIDING A RATIO OF TASKS PER TECHNICIAN,”with attorney docket number 070011; and commonly assigned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. ______, filed concurrently herewith, titled“METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIA FOR PROVIDING WORKFORCETO LOAD INFORMATION,” with attorney docket number 060482; each of whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates generally to the field of load balancing. Morespecifically, the disclosure provided herein relates to the field ofdynamic workforce reallocation.

BACKGROUND

Telecommunications networks may provide a number of services, such asplain old telephone service (“POTS”), digital subscriber line (“DSL”),and cable. Maintenance of the telecommunications network generallyinvolves the assignment of an appropriate technician to each outstandingjob such that all of the outstanding jobs are timely filled. When atechnician finishes one job and is ready to be dispatched to anotherjob, the technician may receive next job information. The next jobinformation may include, for example, the location of the next job andthe type of work to be done in the next job. The technician may receivethe next job information via a portable computing device, such as alaptop computer, which enables the technician to receive the jobinformation out in the field without having to return to a base station.

A sufficient number of technicians are typically hired to comfortablyfill an estimated number of jobs. There may be times, however, when theavailability of technicians is greater than the availability of jobs forwhich the available technicians are qualified. In such a case, insteadof receiving next job information on the portable computing device whenthe technician is ready to be dispatched to another job, the technicianwill receive a No Jobs Available (“NJA”) message. The NJA message may betransmitted to the technician from a load balance personal computer(“PC”) responsible for dispatching technicians to jobs.

The amount of unproductive time between the technician receiving a NJAmessage and being dispatched to the next job is known as Lost ProductiveTime (“LPT”). LPT may be a significant expense for entities involved inscheduling and dispatching technicians or other personnel. As such, theability to track LPT may prove valuable for supervisors and managersresponsible for dispatching the technicians.

LPT may conventionally be estimated by manually retrieving atechnician's work list (i.e., a list containing the time periods inwhich the technician was dispatched to jobs) and calculating the amountof time between jobs on the work list. The work list, however, generallyprovides no information regarding whether or when the technicianreceived a NJA message. Thus, no way existed to associate the amount oftime between jobs with the NJA message to more precisely determine theLPT.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the disclosure presented herein include methods, systems,and computer-readable media for generating a report indicating jobavailability. According to one aspect, a method for generating a reportindicating job availability is provided. According to the method, aselected assignment group is displayed. A number of status messagesreceived by a technician in the selected assignment group is displayed.The status messages indicate that no jobs are available for thetechnician. An amount of lost time associated with the technician in theselected assignment group is displayed. The lost time includes adifference between a time at which the technician received one of thestatus messages and a time at which the technician is dispatched to anext job. The amount of lost time associated with the technician in theselected assignment group is displayed.

According to another aspect, a system for generating a report indicatingjob availability is provided. The system includes a memory and aprocessor functionally coupled to the memory. The memory stores aprogram containing code for generating the report indicating jobavailability. The processor is responsive to computer-executableinstructions contained in the program and operative to display aselected assignment group, display a number of status messages receivedby a technician in the selected assignment group, determine an amount oflost time associated with the technician in the selected assignmentgroup, and display the amount of lost time associated with thetechnician in the selected assignment group. The status messages mayindicate that no jobs are available for the technician. According toexemplary embodiments, the lost minutes comprise a difference between atime at which the technician received one of the status messages and atime at which the technician is dispatched to a next job.

According to yet another aspect, a computer-readable medium havinginstructions stored thereon for execution by a processor to perform amethod for generating a report indicating job availability is provided.According to the method, a selected assignment group is displayed. Anumber of status messages received by a technician in the selectedassignment group is displayed. The status messages indicate that no jobsare available for the technician. An amount of lost time associated withthe technician in the selected assignment group is displayed. The losttime includes a difference between a time at which the technicianreceived one of the status messages and a time at which the technicianis dispatched to a next job. The amount of lost time associated with thetechnician in the selected assignment group is displayed.

Other systems, methods, and/or computer program products according toembodiments will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponreview of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, and/or computerprogram products be included within this description, be within thescope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanyingclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a graphical userinterface (“GUI”) in a previous version.

FIG. 2 is a high-level diagram illustrating an allocation of techniciansfor maintaining and repairing a telecommunications network, inaccordance with exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a computer configured to generatea No Jobs Available (“NJA”) report, in accordance with exemplaryembodiments.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a workforce reallocation system, inaccordance with exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a NJA report type menu, in accordancewith exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a NJA report selection menu, inaccordance with exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a NJA summary report, in accordancewith exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a NJA details report, in accordancewith exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for generating a NJAreport, in accordance with exemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is directed to methods, systems, andcomputer-readable media for generating a report indicating jobavailability (e.g., a No Jobs Available (“NJA”) report). In thefollowing detailed description, references are made to the accompanyingdrawings that form a part hereof, and which are shown by way ofillustration specific embodiments or examples.

As used herein, the terms “work order,” “job,” and “task” are usedinterchangeably. Although not so limited, embodiments described hereinprimarily refer to a “work order” as the maintenance and repair of atelecommunications network by a technician. However, it will be apparentto one of ordinary skill in the art that, in further embodiments, a“work order” may include any suitable service that involves theallocation and reallocation of personnel to perform the service. As usedherein, a technician refers to any suitable personnel for performing aservice.

Embodiments described herein provide a Next Generation Load Balance(“NGLB”) tool for work force reallocation. According to exemplaryembodiments, the NGLB tool has a graphical user interface (“GUI”)containing an organized overview of work order and technician statuseswithin a plurality of turfs. The NGLB tool may be utilized by a loadbalance supervisor (“LBS”) or other load balancing personnel to aid inthe coordination of work force reallocation within the plurality ofturfs. In one embodiment, the NGLB tool is provided to the LBS as aweb-based application that can be accessed remotely via, for example, aweb browser.

According to further embodiments, the NGLB tool includes a No JobsAvailable (“NJA”) report module, such as a NJA report module 216 ofFIGS. 3 and 4. The NJA report module 216 generates a NJA report, such asa NJA summary report 402 of FIG. 7 and a NJA details report 404 of FIG.8, according to one embodiment. The NJA report may provide any suitableinformation related to the NJA message including, but not limited to,the names of the technicians who received the NJA message, theidentification (ID) number of the technicians who received the message,the number of times each technician received the NJA message, the typeof job to which each technician is dispatched after receiving the NJAmessage, the amount of time between receiving the NJA message and thenext dispatch (i.e., lost time), the amount of time that may bedisregarded from the lost time (i.e., disregarded time), the time atwhich the NJA message is received, the time at which each technician isdispatched to the next job, and each technician's field supervisor. TheNJA report enables the LBS or other load balancing personnel to easilyand quickly determine Lost Productive Time (“LPT”) and relatedinformation with respect to the technicians. In one embodiment, LPT isdetermined by subtracting the disregarded time from the lost time. Anexample of disregarded time may be lunch time.

Referring now to the drawings, it is to be understood that like numeralsrepresent like elements through the several figures, and that not allcomponents and/or steps described and illustrated with reference to thefigures are required for all embodiments. FIG. 1 is an exemplaryembodiment of the GUI 10 utilized in a previous version of the NGLB toolimplemented by assignee of this application on or about April 2005. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the GUI 10 includes a plurality of turfs, such asturfs 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, 12 d. Each of the turfs, such as the turf 12 a,includes four columns 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d. Each of the four columns14 a, 14 b, 14 c, 14 d includes a first cell 16 a and a second cell 16b. The first cell 16 a includes job information and the second cell 16 bincludes technician information, according to one embodiment. The GUI 10provides map presentation of the turfs 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, 12 d. The mappresentation provides a visual mapping of physical distances betweeneach of the plurality of the turfs 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, 12 d. In oneexample, the physical distance between the turf 12 a and the turf 12 bis a distance 18. In another example, the turf 12 c and turf 12 d arecontiguous as indicated by the turf 12 c being in contact with the turf12 d in the GUI 10.

FIGS. 2-9 as described below illustrate a current version of the NGLBtool. FIG. 2 is a high-level diagram illustrating an allocation oftechnicians 102 for maintaining and repairing a telecommunicationsnetwork 100, in accordance with exemplary embodiments. Thetelecommunications network 100 is maintained and repaired by a pluralityof technicians 102. As illustrated in FIG. 2, each of the plurality oftechnicians 102 is assigned to Alpha turf 104 a or Beta turf 104 b(collectively turfs 104) by a LBS 106 or other load balancing personnel.Each turf 104 includes a plain old telephone service (“POTS”) bucket 108a, a digital subscriber line (“DSL”) bucket 108 b, and a cable bucket108 c (collectively buckets 108), according to one embodiment. Each ofthe plurality of buckets 108 represents a discipline in which atechnician 102 may be assigned based on the skill set of the technician102. In particular, the technician 102 in the POTS bucket 108 a shouldhave a skill set for completing POTS related work orders. The technician102 in the DSL bucket 108 b should have a skill set for completing DSLrelated work orders. And the technician 102 in the cable bucket 108 cshould have a skill set for completing cable related work orders. In oneembodiment, one or more technicians 102 may include multiple skill setsfor completing work orders under multiple buckets 108. The technicians102 may be managed by one or more field supervisors (not shown). Forexample, the technicians 102 in each bucket 108 may be managed by aseparate field supervisor.

For the sake of simplicity and without limitation, only two turfs 104 aand 104 b and three buckets 108 a, 108 b, and 108 c are illustrated inFIG. 2. However, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in theart that the telecommunications network 100 may include any suitablenumber of turfs 104 and any suitable number and types of buckets 108,according to further embodiments.

The LBS 106 utilizes a computer 110 to aid in reallocating the pluralityof technicians 102 across the turfs 104. The computer 110 includes areallocation module 112, which enables the computer 110 to display agraphical user interface (“GUI”) (not shown) that provides the LBS 106with an organized, visual presentation of the technicians 102, the turfs104, and the buckets 108, according to one embodiment. In one example,if work orders in the Alpha turf 104 a cannot be timely filled withoutadditional technicians 102, the LBS 106 may view the GUI to determine ifthe technicians 102 in the Beta turf 104 b can be utilized. In a furtherexample, if service orders in the POTS bucket 108 a cannot be timelyfilled without additional technicians 102, the LBS 106 may view the GUIto determine if the technicians 102 in the DSL bucket 108 b or the cablebucket 108 c are qualified to fill POTS work orders. In one embodiment,the computer 110 functions as a web server located remotely from the LBS106 by executing a web server application, such as BEA WEBLOGIC SERVERfrom BEA SYSTEMS. In this embodiment, the LBS 106 may access the GUIover a network, such as a network 214 of FIGS. 3 and 4, using, forexample, a local web browser interface on a personal computer (“PC”) orother computing device.

In one embodiment, the reallocation module 112 generates at least aportion of the GUI based on data stored in a data storage unit 114. Thedata storage unit 114 may store any suitable data related to thetechnicians 102, such as the location, skills, schedule, andavailability of the technicians 102. The data storage unit 114 may be adatabase. In one embodiment, the data storage unit 114 is an IntegratedDispatch System (“IDS”). The IDS is described in greater detail in U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0111311, entitled “Turfs andSkills for Multiple Technicians,” to Ingman et al.; U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2004/0111312, entitled “Validating Turfs forWork Orders,” to Ingman et al.; U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2004/0111313, entitled “Methods and Systems for Assigning MultipleTasks,” to Ingman et al.; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2004/0111634, entitled “Security Permissions for an Integrated DispatchSystem,” to Ingman et al.

FIG. 3 and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief,general description of the computer 110 in which embodiments may beimplemented. While embodiments will be described in the general contextof program modules that execute in conjunction with an applicationprogram that runs on an operating system on a computer system, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments may also beimplemented in combination with other program modules.

Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, datastructures, and other types of structures that perform particular tasksor implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that embodiments may be practiced with othercomputer system configurations, including hand-held devices,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Theembodiments may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotememory storage devices.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the computer 110 configured togenerate a NJA report, in accordance with exemplary embodiments. Thecomputer 110 includes a processing unit 202, a memory 204, one or moreuser interface devices 206, one or more input/output (“I/O”) devices208, and one or more network devices 210, each of which is operativelyconnected to a system bus 212. The bus 212 enables bi-directionalcommunication between the processing unit 202, the memory 204, the userinterface devices 206, the I/O devices 208, and the network devices 210.

The processing unit 202 may be a standard central processor thatperforms arithmetic and logical operations, a more specific purposeprogrammable logic controller (“PLC”), a programmable gate array, orother type of processor known to those skilled in the art and suitablefor controlling the operation of the server computer. Processing unitsare well-known in the art, and therefore not described in further detailherein.

The memory 204 communicates with the processing unit 202 via the systembus 212. In one embodiment, the memory 204 is operatively connected to amemory controller (not shown) that enables communication with theprocessing unit 202 via the system bus 212. According to exemplaryembodiments, the memory 204 includes the reallocation module 112. In oneembodiment, the reallocation module 112 is embodied in computer-readablemedia containing instructions that, when executed by the processing unit202, generates a GUI (not shown) containing information related to thereallocation of the technicians 102 across a plurality of the turfs 104,as described in greater detail below. Exemplary information related tothe reallocation across a plurality of the turfs 104 includes, but isnot limited to, the physical proximity between the technicians 102, theavailability of the technicians 102, the physical proximity between theturfs 104, the existing load on each of the turfs 104, and theanticipated load on each of the turfs 104. According to furtherembodiments, the reallocation module 112 may be embodied in hardware,software, firmware, or any combination thereof.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the reallocation module 112 includes the NJAreport module 216. The NJA report module 216 may be displayed as part ofthe GUI generated by the reallocation module 112 or separate from theGUI generated by the reallocation module 112. In one embodiment, the NJAreport module 216 is embodied in computer-readable media containinginstructions that, when executed by the processing unit 202, generates aNJA report, such as the NJA summary report 402 of FIG. 7 and the NJAdetails report 404 of FIG. 8, as described in greater detail below. Theinformation provided by the NJA report may include, but is not limitedto, the names of the technicians 102 who received the NJA message, theidentification (ID) number of the technicians 102 who received themessage, the number of times each technician 102 received the NJAmessage, the type of job to which each technician 102 is dispatchedafter receiving the NJA message, the amount of time between receivingthe NJA message and the next dispatch (i.e., lost time), the amount oftime that may be disregarded from the lost time (e.g., disregardedtime), the time at which the NJA message is received, the time at whicheach technician 102 is dispatched to the next job, and each technician's102 field supervisor. The NJA report enables the LBS 106 or other loadbalancing personnel to easily and quickly determine Lost Productive Time(“LPT”) and related information with respect to the technicians 102. Inone embodiment, LPT is determined by subtracting the disregarded timefrom the lost time. According to further embodiments, the NJA reportmodule 216 may be embodied in hardware, software, firmware, or anycombination thereof.

By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media maycomprise computer storage media and communication media. Computerstorage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data. Computer storage media includes, but isnot limited to, RAM, ROM, Erasable Programmable ROM (“EPROM”),Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (“EEPROM”), flash memory or othersolid state memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (“DVD”),or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other mediumwhich can be used to store the desired information and which can beaccessed by the computer 110.

The user interface devices 206 may include one or more devices withwhich a user accesses the computer 110. The user interface devices 206may include, but are not limited to, computers, servers, personaldigital assistants, cellular phones, or any suitable computing devices.In one embodiment, the computer 110 functions as a web server locatedremotely from the LBS 106 by executing a web server application, such asBEA WEBLOGIC SERVER from BEA SYSTEMS. By enabling the computer 110 tofunction as a web server, the LBS 106 may access the GUI generated bythe computer 110 over a network, such as the network 214, using, forexample, a local web browser interface on a PC or other computingdevice.

According to exemplary embodiments, the I/O devices 208 enable a user tointerface with the reallocation module 112. In one embodiment, the I/Odevices 208 are operatively connected to an I/O controller (not shown)that enables communication with the processing unit 202 via the systembus 212. The I/O devices 208 may include one or more input devices, suchas, but not limited to, a keyboard, a mouse, and an electronic stylus.Further, the I/O devices 208 may include one or more output devices,such as, but not limited to, a display screen and a printer.

The network devices 210 enable the computer 110 to communicate withother networks or remote systems via a network 214. Examples of thenetwork devices 210 may include, but are not limited to, a modem, aradio frequency (“RF”) or infrared (“IR”) transceiver, a telephonicinterface, a bridge, a router, or a network card. The network 214 mayinclude a wireless network such as, but not limited to, a Wireless LocalArea Network (“WLAN”) such as a WI-FI network, a Wireless Wide AreaNetwork (“WWAN”), a Wireless Personal Area Network (“WPAN”) such asBLUETOOTH, a Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (“WMAN”) such a WiMAXnetwork, or a cellular network. Alternatively, the network 214 may be awired network such as, but not limited to, a Wide Area Network (“WAN”)such as the Internet, a Local Area Network (“LAN”) such as the Ethernet,a wired Personal Area Network (“PAN”), or a wired Metropolitan AreaNetwork (“MAN”).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a workforce reallocation system 300, inaccordance with exemplary embodiments. The workforce reallocation system300 includes the computer 110, a network dispatch center (“NDC”) 302,and the data storage unit 114, each of which is operatively connected tothe network 214. The NDC 302 includes a load balance PC 304, which isutilized by the LBS 106, according to one embodiment. In furtherembodiments, the NDC 302 may include any suitable number of load balancePCs 304 to be utilized by any suitable number of LBSs 106. The datastorage unit 114 may store any suitable data regarding the technicians102, such as their location, skills, schedule, and availability. In oneembodiment, the reallocation module 112 retrieves data from the datastorage unit 114 to generate a GUI. The data storage unit 114 may be adatabase. In one embodiment, the data storage unit 114 is an IDS.

The load balance PC 304 includes a display 306 and a mouse 308,according to one embodiment. In further embodiments, the load balance PC304 may include any suitable input/output devices 208. It will beapparent to one having ordinary skill in the art that the load balancePC 304 may be substituted with any suitable computing device, such as apersonal digital assistant or a cellular phone. The display 306 may beconfigured to display the NJA report provided by the NJA report module216.

In exemplary embodiments, the load balance PC 304 includes a web browser310, such as INTERNET EXPLORER from MICROSOFT CORPORATION, for accessingthe NJA report and for facilitating communications between the LBS 106and the computer 110. Using the web browser 310, the LBS 106 may accessthe NJA report by inputting a Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) into theweb browser 310. The load balance PC 304 may communicate with thecomputer 110 via Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”). As previouslydescribed, the computer 110 may function as a web server. In oneembodiment, access to the NJA report by the load balance PC 304 may berestricted by a login screen requiring, for example, a loginidentification and a password. In further embodiments, communicationsbetween the load balance PC 304 and the computer 110 may be encrypted byany suitable encryption mechanism.

In exemplary embodiments, the computer 110 may communicate with the datastorage unit 114 via a Java Database Connectivity (“JDBC”) applicationprogram interface (“API”). In one embodiment, the computer 110 retrievesdata from the data storage unit 114 at regular intervals, such as everytwo to five minutes. In further embodiments, the computer 110 retrievesdata from the data storage unit 114 when requested by the LBS 106. Inother embodiments, the reallocation module 112 may be stored on the loadbalance PC 304 such that the GUI is accessed from the load balance PC304 and such that the load balance PC 304 communicates with andretrieves data from the data storage unit 114.

FIGS. 5 and 6 and the following discussion provide exemplary embodimentsof GUI menus providing access to a NJA report. According to embodiments,the GUI menus enable the LBS 106 to select a type of NJA report (i.e.,the NJA summary report 402 or a NJA details report 404) and to selectthe content of the NJA report based on various selections. FIGS. 7 and 8and the following discussion provide exemplary embodiments of the NJAsummary report 402 and the NJA details report 404, respectively. It willbe apparent to one having ordinary skill in the art that FIGS. 5-7 areprovided only as an illustration and are not so limited. In one example,a NJA report type menu 400 and a NJA report selection menu 500 are shownin a drop-down menu format. The NJA report selection menu 500 and theNJA report type menu 400 may be presented in any suitable format,according to further embodiments. In another example, the NJA summaryreport 402 and the NJA details report 404 are presented in a spreadsheetformat. The NJA summary report 402 and the NJA details report 404 may bepresented in any suitable format, according to further embodiments. Theexemplary menus and reports described herein may also provide differentselections and data.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the NJA report type menu 400, inaccordance with exemplary embodiments. In one embodiment, the NJA reporttype menu 400 is part of the GUI generated by the reallocation module112. The type menu 400 enables the LBS 106 to retrieve at least one oftwo types of NJA reports: the NJA summary report 402 and the NJA detailsreport 404. In one embodiment, the NJA summary report 402 providesaggregated information for the technicians 102 in an assignment group,while the NJA details report 404 provides individual information foreach technician 102 in the assignment group. The NJA summary report 402and the NJA details report 404 are described in greater detail belowwith respect to FIGS. 7 and 8. In one embodiment, the type menu 400 isaccessed by the LBS 106 using the web browser 310 in the load balance PC304. The type menu 400 may be displayed on the display 306, and the LBS106 may select the type of NJA report in the type menu 400 using themouse 308.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the NJA report selection menu 500, inaccordance with exemplary embodiments. In one embodiment, the NJA reportselection menu 500 is provided after the LBS 106 selects a type of NJAreport in the type menu 400. The selection menu 500 enables the LBS 106to choose a NDC selection 502 (referred to in FIG. 6 as a WorkManagement Center (“WMC”) selection), an assignment group selection 504,a start date selection 506, and an end date selection 508. In oneembodiment, each NDC available in the NDC selection 502 represents astate (e.g., Georgia), and each assignment group available in theassignment group selection 504 represents a portion of the staterepresented by the NDC selection 502. In further embodiments, the NDCselection 502 and the assignment group selection 504 may represent anysuitable geographic areas. The start date selection 506 and the end dateselection 508 represent the time frame for which the NJA report isrequested.

In one embodiment, one or more of the NDC selection 502, the assignmentgroup selection 504, the start date selection 506, and the end dateselection 508 may be left unselected. For example, if the start dateselection 506 and the end date selection 508 are left unselected, thegenerated NJA report may include data for a default time frame. Afterselecting the NDC selection 502, the assignment group selection 504, thestart date selection 506, and the end date selection 508, the LBS 106may depress a Get Report button 510 to retrieve the NJA report.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of the NJAsummary report 402. The NJA summary report 402 is presented in aspreadsheet format, according to one embodiment. The NJA summary report402 may be generated by any suitable spreadsheet program, such asMICROSOFT EXCEL from MICROSOFT CORPORATION. In one embodiment, the NJAsummary report 402 is generated based, at least in part, on informationprovided by the data storage unit 114.

The NJA summary report 402 may include a NDC selection 602 (referred toin FIG. 7 as a WMC selection), an assignment group selection 604, astart date selection 606, and an end date selection 608. The NDCselection 602, the assignment group selection 604, the start dateselection 606, and the end date selection 608 may correspond to the NDCselection 502, the assignment group selection 504, the start dateselection 506, and the end date selection 508. As illustrated in FIG. 7,the NDC selection 602 indicates that an Alabama NDC was selected. Theassignment group selection 604 indicates that no assignment group wasselected. In one embodiment, selecting no assignment groups in theassignment group selection 604 is the same as selecting every assignmentgroup in the assignment group selection 604. The start date selection606 and the end date selection 608 indicate that a time frame withinJun. 11, 2007 was selected.

In response to depressing a Get Report button 610, a summary portion 612and a report portion 614 may be displayed. As illustrated in FIG. 7, thesummary portion 612 provides data for the NDC selected in the NDCselection 602, while the report portion 614 provides data for one ormore assignment groups selected in the assignment group selection 604.The summary portion 612 may include a NDC column 616 (referred to inFIG. 7 as a WMC column), a number of NJA messages column 618, number oftotal lost minutes column 620, a number of lunch minutes column 622, anumber of net lost minutes column 624, a number of plain old telephoneservice (“POTS”) minutes column 626, a number of digital subscriber line(“DSL”) minutes column 628, a number of cable minutes column 630, anumber of specials minutes column 632, and a number of non-demand (“ND”)minutes column 634.

According to exemplary embodiments, the NDC column 616 corresponds tothe NDC selected via the NDC selection 602. At the row 636, the NDCcolumn 616 indicates that the Alabama NDC was selected. According toexemplary embodiments, the number of NJA messages column 618 indicatesthe aggregate number of NJA received by the technicians 102 for all ofthe assignment groups selected in the assignment group selection 604. Atthe row 636, the number of NJA messages column 618 indicates that 220NJA messages were received. According to exemplary embodiments, thenumber of total lost minutes column 620 indicates the aggregate amountof time lost by the technicians 102 for all of the assignment groupsselected in the assignment group selection 604 between receiving a NJAmessage and being dispatched to the next job. At the row 636, the numberof total lost minutes column 620 indicates that 1,640 minutes were lost.According to exemplary embodiments, the number of lunch minutes column622 indicates the number of lost minutes specified the number of totallost minutes column 620 that were attributable to lunch time. At the row636, the number of lunch minutes column 622 indicates that 997 of the1,640 minutes were attributable to lunch time. The lunch time may be anysuitable time frame, for example, between 11 am and 1 pm. According toexemplary embodiments, the number of net lost minutes column 624indicates the LPT, which is the difference between the number of totallost minutes column 620 and the number of lunch minutes column 622. Atthe row 636, the number of net lost minutes column 624 is 643 minutes(i.e., 1,640−997 minutes).

According to exemplary embodiments, the number of POTS minutes column626 indicates a number of total lost minutes and number of lunch minutesattributable to the technicians 102 assigned to a POTS bucket. At therow 636, the number of POTS minutes column 626 indicates 864 total lostminutes and 382 lunch minutes attributable to the technicians 102assigned to the POTS bucket for POTS related work orders. According toexemplary embodiments, the number of DSL minutes column 628 indicates anumber of total lost minutes and number of lunch minutes attributable tothe technicians 102 assigned to a DSL bucket for DSL related workorders. At the row 636, the number of DSL minutes column 628 indicates227 total lost minutes and 220 lunch minutes attributable to thetechnicians 102 assigned to the DSL bucket. According to exemplaryembodiments, the number of cable minutes column 630 indicates a numberof total lost minutes and number of lunch minutes attributable to thetechnicians 102 assigned to a cable bucket for cable related workorders. At the row 636, the number of cable minutes column 630 indicatesnine total lost minutes and zero lunch minutes attributable to thetechnicians 102 assigned to the cable bucket. According to exemplaryembodiments, the number of specials minutes column 632 indicates anumber of total lost minutes and number of lunch minutes attributable tothe technicians 102 assigned to a specials bucket for special circuitrelated work orders (e.g., Digital Signal 1 (“DS1”) and Digital Signal 3(“DS3”)). At the row 636, the number of specials minutes column 632indicates 129 total lost minutes and 128 lunch minutes attributable tothe technicians 102 assigned to the specials bucket. According toexemplary embodiments, the number of ND minutes column 634 indicates anumber of total lost minutes and number of lunch minutes attributable tothe technicians 102 assigned to a ND bucket for work orders not assignedto the POTS, DSL, cable, and specials buckets. At the row 636, thenumber of ND minutes column 634 indicates 361 total lost minutes and 267lunch minutes attributable to the technicians 102 assigned to the NDbucket.

The report portion 614 may include an assignment group column 638, anumber of NJA messages column 640, number of total lost minutes column642, a number of lunch minutes column 644, a number of POTS totalminutes column 646, a number of POTS lunch minutes column 648, a numberof DSL total minutes column 650, a number of DSL lunch minutes column652, a number of cable total minutes column 654, a number of cable lunchminutes column 656, a number of specials total minutes column 658, anumber of specials lunch minutes column 660, a number of ND totalminutes column 662, and a number of ND lunch minutes column 664.

According to exemplary embodiments, the assignment group column 638corresponds to the assignment group selected via the assignment groupselection 604. As described above, the assignment group selection 604indicates that all of the assignment groups were selected. As such, theassignment group column 638 includes all of the assignment groups, suchas an assignment group 668, associated with the Alabama NDC selected viathe NDC selection 602. The number of NJA messages column 640 indicatesthat three NJA messages were received by the technicians 102 in theassignment group 668. The number of total lost minutes column 642indicates that sixteen minutes were lost between receiving a NJA messageand being dispatched to the next job in the assignment group 668. Thenumber of lunch minutes column 644 indicates that sixteen of the sixteenminutes in the number of total lost minutes column 642 were attributableto lunch time. The number of POTS total minutes column 646 and thenumber of POTS lunch minutes column 648 indicate sixteen total lostminutes and sixteen lunch minutes, respectively, attributable to thetechnicians 102 assigned to the POTS bucket. The number of DSL totalminutes column 650 and the number of DSL lunch minutes column 652indicate zero total lost minutes and zero lunch minutes, respectively,attributable to the technicians 102 assigned to the DSL bucket. Thenumber of cable total minutes column 654 and the number of cable lunchminutes column 656 indicate zero total lost minutes and zero lunchminutes, respectively, attributable to the technicians 102 assigned tothe cable bucket. The number of specials total minutes column 658 andthe number of specials lunch minutes column 660 indicate zero total lostminutes and zero lunch minutes, respectively, attributable to thetechnicians 102 assigned to the specials bucket. The number of ND totalminutes column 662 and the number of ND lunch minutes column 664indicate zero total lost minutes and zero lunch minutes, respectively,attributable to the technicians 102 assigned to the ND bucket.

It should be appreciated that the POTS, DSL, cable, specials, and NDbuckets illustrated in FIG. 7 are only exemplary. In furtherembodiments, the NJA summary report 402 may include different buckets.It should further be appreciated that different columns may beillustrated in FIG. 7 as contemplated by those skilled in the art.

Although not so limited, the number of lost minutes column 620 and thenumber of lunch minutes column 622 measure time in minutes. However, itwill be apparent to one having ordinary skill in the art that the timemay be measured in any suitable unit of time. Further, while FIG. 7illustrates that only lunch minutes are disregarded from the LPTdetermination, it should be appreciated that other suitable time periodsmay be disregarded as well, according to further embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the NJA details report 404, inaccordance with exemplary embodiments. The NJA details report 404 ispresented in a spreadsheet format, according to one embodiment. The NJAdetails report 404 may be generated by any suitable spreadsheet program,such as MICROSOFT EXCEL from MICROSOFT CORPORATION. In one embodiment,the NJA details report 404 is generated based, at least in part, oninformation provided by the data storage unit 114.

The NJA details report 404 may include a NDC column 702 (referred to inFIG. 8 as a WMC column), an assignment group column 704, a bucket column706, a NJA message time column 708, a technician identification (“ID”)column 710, a technician name column 712, a next dispatch time column714, a number of lost minutes column 716, a number of NJA messagescolumn 718, and a supervisor column 720. The NDC column 702 correspondsto the NDC selection 502. At a row 722, the NDC column 702 indicatesthat the Alabama NDC was selected via the NDC selection 502. Theassignment group column 704 corresponds to the assignment groupselection 504. At the row 722, the assignment group column 704 indicatesthe Birmingham assignment group was selected via the assignment groupselection 504. According to exemplary embodiments, the bucket column 706indicates the discipline in which the technician 102 identified by thetechnician ID column 710 and the technician name column 712 is assignedbased on the skill set of the identified technician 102. Exemplarybuckets include, but are not limited to, a plain old telephone service(“POTS”) bucket, a digital subscriber line (“DSL”) bucket, and a cablebucket. The technician 102 in the POTS bucket, for example, is capableof filling POTS related work orders, and the technician 102 in the DSLbucket, for example, is capable of filling DSL related work orders.

The NJA message time column 708 may indicate the date and time at whichthe technician 102 identified by the technician ID column 710 and thetechnician name column 712 received a NJA message. In one embodiment,the NJA message time column 708 identifies the date and time of the mostrecent message if the technician 102 receives multiple NJA messages. Thetechnician ID column 710 and the technician name column 712 identify aparticular technician, such as the technician 102. The next dispatchtime column 714 indicates the date and time at which the technician 102identified by the technician ID column 710 and the technician namecolumn 712 was dispatched to the next job after receiving the NJAmessage, according to exemplary embodiments. The number of lost minutescolumn 716 indicates the time lost by the technicians 102 betweenreceiving the NJA message and being dispatched to the next job. As such,the number of minutes in the number of lost minutes column 716 is thenumber of minutes between the time in the NJA message time column 708and the next dispatch time column 714. For example, at the row 722, theNJA message time column 708 indicates a time of 13:39, and the nextdispatch time column 714 indicates a time of 13:45. The number ofminutes between 13:39 and 13:45 is six, which is the number of minutesindicated in the number of lost minutes column 716 at the row 722.

The number of NJA messages column 718 indicates the number of NJAmessages received by the technician 102 identified by the technician IDcolumn 710 and the technician name column 712 since the time and dateidentified in the NJA message time column 708, according to exemplaryembodiments. At the row 722, the number of NJA messages column 718indicates that one NJA message was received. The supervisor column 720indicates the name of the field supervisor responsible for managing thetechnician 102 identified by the technician ID column 710 and thetechnician name column 712. In one embodiment, the field supervisor isresponsible for each technician 102 in a particular bucket.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 8, the NJA details report 404 mayfurther include columns related to disregarded time. In furtherembodiments, the disregarded time may be determined based on informationprovided in the NJA details report 404. For example, a number of lunchminutes may be determined by examining the span between the timeindicated in the NJA message time column 708 and the time indicated inthe next dispatch time column 714, and determining the number of minutesin the span that overlaps with the lunch time. The lunch time may be anysuitable time frame, for example, between 11 am and 1 pm. In oneembodiment, the LPT is determined by subtracting the number of lunchminutes from the number of lost minutes. In further embodiments, the LPTmay be determined by subtracting any suitable time that is notconsidered to be productive time.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 800 for generating areport indicating job availability. After the LBS 106 selects anassignment group in the assignment group selection 504, the NJA reportmodule 216 displays (at 802) the selected assignment group. For example,FIG. 7 shows the selected assignment group under the assignment groupselection 604, and FIG. 8 shows the selected assignment group under theassignment group column 704. The NJA report module 216 displays (at 804)a number of NJA messages received by a technician, such as thetechnician 102, in the selected assignment group. In one embodiment, anaggregate number of NJA messages for a plurality of the technicians 102in the selected assignment group is displayed, as illustrated in FIG. 7under the number of NJA messages column 618. In further embodiments, thenumber of NJA messages received by each technician 102 in the selectedassignment group is displayed, as illustrated in FIG. 8 under the numberof NJA messages column 718.

The NJA report module 216 determines and displays (at 806) a number oflost minutes associated with the technician 102 in the selectedassignment group. As previously described, the lost minutes are thedifference between the time at which the technician 102 received one ofthe NJA messages and the time at which the technician 102 is dispatchedto the next job. In FIG. 7, the lost minutes are indicated under thenumber of total lost minutes column 620. In FIG. 8, the lost minutes areindicated under the number of lost minutes column 716, which is thedifference between the time shown in the NJA message time column 708 andthe time shown in the next dispatch time column 714. In furtherembodiments, the NJA report module 216 reduces the calculated lost time(e.g., the lost minutes under the total lost minutes column 620) by anamount associated with the disregarded time (e.g., the lunch time underthe lunch minutes column 622) to determine a LPT (e.g., the net lostminutes column under the net lost minutes column 624) and displays theLPT.

Although the subject matter presented herein has been described inconjunction with one or more particular embodiments and implementations,it is to be understood that the embodiments defined in the appendedclaims are not necessarily limited to the specific structure,configuration, or functionality described herein. Rather, the specificstructure, configuration, and functionality are disclosed as exampleforms of implementing the claims.

The subject matter described above is provided by way of illustrationonly and should not be construed as limiting. Various modifications andchanges may be made to the subject matter described herein withoutfollowing the example embodiments and applications illustrated anddescribed, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of theembodiments, which is set forth in the following claims.

1. A method for generating a report indicating job availability,comprising: displaying a selected assignment group; displaying a numberof status messages received by a technician in the selected assignmentgroup, the status messages indicating that no jobs are available for thetechnician; determining an amount of lost time associated with thetechnician in the selected assignment group, the lost time comprising adifference between a time at which the technician received one of thestatus messages and a time at which the technician is dispatched to anext job; and displaying the amount of lost time associated with thetechnician in the selected assignment group.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein displaying the amount of lost time associated with thetechnician in the selected assignment group comprises displaying anumber of lost minutes associated with the technician in the selectedassignment group.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying a numberof status messages received by a technician in the selected assignmentgroup comprises displaying an aggregate number of status messagesreceived by a plurality of technicians in the selected assignment group.4. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the amount of lost timeassociated with the technician in the selected assignment groupcomprises displaying an aggregate amount of lost time associated with aplurality of technicians in the selected assignment group.
 5. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: displaying at least one category of timeto be disregarded from the lost amount of time for determining lostproductive time.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein displaying at leastone category of time to be disregarded from the lost amount of time fordetermining lost productive time comprises displaying an amount of lunchtime associated with the technician in the selected assignment group. 7.The method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying at least one of abucket, the time at which the technician received one of the statusmessages, the time at which the technician is dispatched to the nextjob, the technician's name, and the technician's supervisor.
 8. A systemfor generating a report indicating job availability, comprising a memoryfor storing a program containing code for generating the reportindicating job availability; a processor functionally coupled to thememory, the processor being responsive to computer-executableinstructions contained in the program and operative to: display aselected assignment group, display a number of status messages receivedby a technician in the selected assignment group, the status messagesindicating that no jobs are available for the technician, determine anamount of lost time associated with the technician in the selectedassignment group, the lost minutes comprising a difference between atime at which the technician received one of the status messages and atime at which the technician is dispatched to a next job, and displaythe amount of lost time associated with the technician in the selectedassignment group.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the amount of losttime associated with the technician in the selected assignment groupcomprises an amount of lost minutes associated with the technician inthe selected assignment group.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein thenumber of status messages received by the technician in the selectedassignment group comprises an aggregate number of status messagesreceived by a plurality of technicians in the selected assignment group.11. The system of claim 8, wherein the amount of lost time associatedwith the technician in the selected assignment group comprises anaggregate amount of lost time associated with a plurality of techniciansin the selected assignment group.
 12. The system of claim 8, theprocessor being further operative to: display at least one category oftime to be disregarded from the lost amount of time for determining lostproductive time.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least onecategory of time to be disregarded from the lost amount of time fordetermining lost productive time comprises an amount of lunch timeassociated with the technician in the selected assignment group.
 14. Acomputer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon forexecution by a processor to perform a method for generating a reportindicating job availability, the method comprising: displaying aselected assignment group; displaying a number of status messagesreceived by a technician in the selected assignment group, the statusmessages indicating that no jobs are available; and determining anamount of lost time associated with the technician in the selectedassignment group, the lost time comprising a difference between a timeat which the technician received one of the status messages and a timeat which the technician is dispatched to a next job; and displaying theamount of lost time associated with the technician in the selectedassignment group.
 15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, whereindisplaying the amount of lost time associated with the technician in theselected assignment group comprises displaying a number of lost minutesassociated with the technician in the selected assignment group.
 16. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein displaying a number ofstatus messages received by a technician in the selected assignmentgroup comprises displaying an aggregate number of status messagesreceived by a plurality of technicians in the selected assignment group.17. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein displaying theamount of lost time associated with the technician in the selectedassignment group comprises displaying an aggregate amount of lost timeassociated with a plurality of technicians in the selected assignmentgroup.
 18. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, the method furthercomprising: displaying at least one category of time to be disregardedfrom the lost amount of time for determining lost productive time. 19.The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein displaying at leastone category of time to be disregarded from the lost amount of time fordetermining lost productive time comprises displaying an amount of lunchtime associated with the technician in the selected assignment group.20. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, further comprising:displaying at least one of a bucket, the time at which the technicianreceived one of the status messages, the time at which the technician isdispatched to the next job, the technician's name, and the technician'ssupervisor.